Not One More Moment
by Kia33
Summary: With the curse having rebounded on Crystal, what will Ian do? How will he make things right? Can he make things right? Author's Note: This is based more on the movie made out of the book, since I liked a lot of their changes.
1. Ian's Suicide

Disclaimer: I do not own _The Hangman's Curse_, either the book or the movie, and the characters and story are not mine. I am making no money off of this, I just want to explore parts of the story more in-depth and play with the characters. Also note, all dialogue is as word for word as I could get it from the movie – _it is not mine. _

Author's note: This is a Hangman's Curse fanfiction, written from the point of view of Ian Snyder. I have read the book and see the movie; as the movie had a more visceral impact on me, I have chosen to use the movie as my basis for this fanfic.

If Ian's thinking seems really off and not rational – remember the situation he's in, and how much pain he's going through. Nobody is going to be thinking clearly then, and they're going to make connections that don't make sense or that aren't there.

I stepped up onto the wooden platform on the stage, my steps as heavy as the rest of me felt. The curse had gone wrong. It had hit Crystal instead of Elisha. The only person who had ever really cared about me, who made my life even the slightest bit worth living, was now on her way to the hospital in the back of an ambulance. Because of me. It was all because of me. I'd made a mistake, I'd let Abel get out of control, and now look what had happened. I needed to stop things. I needed to see Abel.

"Abel, face me!" I spit the words out, angry and despairing. "I need to talk to you!" I felt like bands of iron were wrapping themselves around my chest, squeezing all the breath and life out of me. I gasped. "We have to work this out!"

"No. He's not the one you need!"

I whirled and saw Elijah rounding the corner from the back entrance to the stage. I ignored him, still staring out from the platform, focused on Abel. The markings I'd drawn on my face should help me talk to him, reach him. I had to get him to stop attacking Crystal. She's all I got. "Answer me!" I shouted to Abel.

"Look, you don't know who you're really calling," said Elijah, reaching the front of the platform I was standing on. He glanced up and saw the noose hanging from the ceiling – nobody had intended for these stage props to actually be used, but since they were here they would fit my purpose – and seemed to guess my plan. I glanced down at him as he grabbed the top of the platform, near my foot. I stepped on his hand, forcing him away. "You don't have to do this," said Elijah desperately.

"The curse came back on Crystal," I shouted at him. "I have to get to Abel, make him reverse it." My eyes grew blurry, and I struggled to keep from breaking down in tears. I had to save Crystal. I had to. She was the only good thing left, and she deserved to live, not to die.

"You think a _stupid ghost_ did this, is that what you think?" Elijah grabbed the top of the platform again and started climbing it to get to me. I smashed my foot onto his hand, needing him to get away. I needed to do this. I needed to save Crystal, and to do that I had to talk to Abel. "Is that what you think, that's what you think, you think a stupid ghost did this! That's not what happened!"

He came towards me again. It was too much. I couldn't deal with him too. I clutched my head for a moment, then lashed out at him with my foot, catching him in the chest and sending him sprawling backwards. Elijah needed to stop interfering. He didn't know what was going on. He didn't know that I had caused this, and that only I could stop it.

I grabbed the noose and pulled it over my head, ducking my head to one side to avoid hitting the top of the knot. "Abel Frye!"

"Don't do this, don't," said Elijah, scrambling up and running towards me. He shook his head. He looked as if he maybe genuinely didn't want me to kill myself, but I couldn't let that affect me. I knew that he didn't really care about me, and I knew what I needed to do.

"Take me, _please_ not her, just take me," I yelled to Abel.

Suddenly, the curtains blocking off the stage drew open, and I saw the entire student body sitting in the auditorium. The lump that had been in my stomach ever since Crystal had been hit grew even larger. So this was to be my punishment, was it? My pain, my agony, my anguish was to be revealed to the whole of Baker High so that they could revel in it? They were to see my suicide? I dropped my hands from the noose to my side. It was a fitting punishment for my crimes.

As students caught sight of me, some of them started screaming. They jumped to their feet, yelling.

"Don't do it," said Elijah. He glanced behind himself at the hundreds of students staring at me. "Don't look at them, look at me!"

I couldn't drag my eyes away from the sight of them jumping to their feet, pumping their fists. "Do it, do it!" I heard several people yell. They wanted me to kill myself. They thought I deserved to die. I agreed with them. I raised my hand back to the rough rope around my neck, fingering it as I stared at the people cheering for my death.

"Look at me! Don't do it, you don't have to do this," said Elijah, begging me to stop. I could barely hear him over the roaring of the crowd and the roaring in my ears. I was stunned as I saw the number of people cheering me on. I had known that they hated me, but I didn't know that all of them did. Even some of the teachers were egging me on. Elijah kept talking, but the only thing I knew now was that I was alone. Completely and utterly alone. The only person who had ever cared about me was dying because of me, and before the curse had rebounded on her I had sent Abel after many of our greatest tormentors in the school. Maybe they, my tormentors, were right after all. Maybe I deserved to be bullied because of who I was. Because I was weird, a freak. Because I was me. And now, because I hadn't believed them and because I wanted revenge, Crystal was dying in the hospital. They had been right all along. I was an outsider, a freak, and I should die.

I remembered different things they'd done to make my life – and Crystal's, as well – hell. Shoving me into the wall. Taking my lunch money. In the cafeteria, holding me by the throat, just a hair short of strangulation, and threatening me. Grabbing Crystal and me and pinning us, helpless, as they ran their hands over her and took her phone and smashed it, like the last three cell phones she'd had. Crystal crying, scared of yet another day having to face them as they threatened us, hurt us, and humiliated us constantly.

My resolve strengthened even more. They wanted me to die. I deserved to die. And if I died, I could talk to Abel and get him to stop hurting Crystal. And then, maybe, with me out of the picture Crystal could have a normal life, without me the freak dragging her down.

Some people came onto the stage from behind – they must have been planning on making a speech, which is why the curtain opened when it did, perfectly timed to be part of my punishment – but I ignored them, focused on one thing only.

I closed my eyes, slowly, and let my knees buckle, sending me over the edge of the platform. The noose tightened, cutting off my air, as I dangled helplessly from the end of the rope. My arms swung loosely and the rope bit into my neck, harsh and burning but not hard enough to break my neck. I heard Elijah yell, and then he grabbed my feet, trying to push me back up. Then there was somebody behind me, grabbing me around the waist and shoulders and pulling me up. No. _No! _They weren't going to let me die. They weren't going to let me make things right.

My jacket slipped down, off my shoulders, leaving me even more exposed and vulnerable to the world as whoever was behind me yanked me up enough that Elijah and somebody else could get my feet onto the side of the platform. The person behind me braced my back, keeping his arms tight around me. I couldn't get out and off the platform again. I staggered, regaining my balance as I was pushed to my feet, and then, slowly, the guy supporting me from behind lowered me onto the side of the platform. I let my eyes flutter open, despairing.

Now the entire school knew that I was so pathetic I couldn't even get my own suicide right. I looked down at the arms of the guy holding me. Black. I knew those hands, knew those arms. I'd seen them day after day as they pinned me under the bleachers as Crystal was tormented or stood behind some of the other, worse, tormentors.

No.

No.

_No. _

So, what did you think? I was trying to get into Ian's head as best I could – did I succeed? Was I too strong on his emotions, or too weak, or were the emotions I gave him completely off?

I'm not certain if this is going to be a one-shot or if I'm going to write more. Would you like more?


	2. The Rest of the Day

Author's note: So, I thought about it some more, and realized that there was more to the story to tell. From here on out, things are going to _change _from what happened in the book or the movie. In the last chapter, I just went really in-depth into what Ian was thinking when he tried to commit suicide. Now, I'm going to make things happen. Remember, I don't own the characters or the setting or anything! This is Peretti's work. I'm not making any money off of it, either.

I wrapped my arms around my knees tightly, fighting the urge to rock back and forth. I wasn't dead. I wasn't dead. _I wasn't dead. _Elijah, his dad, Ms. Wyrthen, and _Blake Hornsby_, of all people, had gotten me back onto the platform quickly enough that I had no ill side effects, other than a sore throat and an acute shame and depression spreading through my body.

They'd brought me outside, quarantining me with some other students in a separate area as the cops and emergency workers tried to sort the students, getting the ones who were safe out of there and quarantining the rest. Elijah had explained what was going on to me. How it was spiders who were causing this – spiders that were attracted to a pheromone that had been put on or near the targeted students. I felt dirty and used. All of those times I'd thought I was in control, somebody had just been using me to hurt the people my group had cursed. They'd set us up to take the blame for the attacks, and led us to believe we had the power, while they were screwing with our minds. I knew that I was still responsible for the attacks, though. I was still responsible for Crystal's illness. Because if I hadn't started this, if I hadn't been trying to get back at our tormentors, then whoever it was who was using us never would have had this chance. So even though I hadn't caused the sicknesses, I had still caused all of this to start. It was all my fault. And now, I knew I had to come clean to Elijah. He'd helped me, saved me, even when I'd kicked him away. He seemed to really care about me. And now I had to tell him the truth, and watch him realize that he never should have tried to help me.

"Elijah," I said, drawing his attention. I took a deep breath. "I need to apologize to you. I'm sorry."

Elijah looked puzzled. "No, it's fine, Ian, at least now you understand that it wasn't Abel. That you weren't causing this."

I flinched slightly, but continued. "No, you don't understand, Elijah... It's..." I bit my lip. "I cursed Elisha. I made her a target." I dug my fingernails into the tender skin on my wrists, waiting to see his reaction.

"What? No! Why?" Elijah jumped up, pulling his glasses off and staring intently at me. He was breathing heavily. "Look, who started all this ghost stuff anyway?"

I looked up at him, feeling like dirt. "Me," I whispered. "I was the one who convinced people to do this."

"But how'd you know about Abel in the first place? Who told you?"

"I – I think it might have been Norman," I said hesitantly. "I don't know."

Elijah stared at me for a moment, then turned and ran off, pushing people out of his way. I looked back down at my hands, forcing them to be still. I heard a boy screaming and looked up to see him, being held by an emergency medical technician, as a spider crawled across his stomach. My stomach dropped and I glanced away hurriedly, only to see the students still waiting in line to be checked glaring at me. Some of them looked terrified, while others looked ready to kill.

This wasn't supposed to happen. I only wanted some of our worst tormentors to get sick. I didn't want anyone else to get hurt – certainly not Crystal. One of the EMT's had told me that she was having a very bad reaction to the poison and that the antidote contained ingredients she was allergic to. She didn't have much of a chance of making it through alive. And it was my fault. _My fault. _I doubled over, trying not to let everyone around see the tears sliding down my cheeks, the sobs wracking my body. I stayed like that for a long time, barely noticing the time passing.

Suddenly, I felt a hand grab my shoulder. I started and looked up, to see Elijah glaring down at me. "She's dead, you bastard. The spiders got her."

"I – I'm so-"

"SHUT UP! I don't want to hear it!"

I could see a tear trickling down Elijah's face, and I closed my eyes, unable to face his pain as well. His pain that was caused by _me_. When his punch caught me in the face, rocking me back, I didn't even try to get away. I opened my eyes to see him panting, hands clenched into fists. "_Bastard_," he whispered. He whirled and stalked off, shoulders shaking so imperceptibly that if I hadn't known he was crying I wouldn't have noticed it.

Elisha was dead. Someone had died because of me. I was a murderer. _I was a murderer. _I couldn't look around, couldn't see the condemnation I was sure would be on my friend's faces. It hadn't even be one of our biggest tormentors, whom I mightn't have minded dying as much. It had been someone who, in the end, had been trying to help us. Me.

"Ian Snyder?" An unfamiliar voice said my name.

I hurriedly wiped away my tears and looked up. A police officer stood in front of me, arms crossed. He looked grim. I should have known that this was coming.

"Yes?" I said.

"You are under arrest for the murder of Elisha Springfield, and for the attempted murder of Crystal Sparks, Leonard..."

Roaring filled my ears. This was it. I would face my crimes, and hopefully be locked up for the rest of my life, where I couldn't hurt anybody else. I shuddered, wishing more than ever that I had succeeded in committing suicide. Wishing that right now, my cold body was swinging in the auditorium.

I held out my arms, interrupting the guy. "Just bring me in," I said harshly, unable to look the cop in the face. The cuffs clicked onto my wrists, the cold burning like fire. I ignored the stares from everybody around us as I was led to the police car. As the cop opened the door to the backseat for me, I glanced up just long enough to catch sight of Elijah and his parents huddled around Elisha. She looked horrible – so pale and cold, her body covered with lumps where the spiders must have bitten her.

"Get in the car," said the officer, stepping in-between me and the Springfields and helping me in. I collapsed into the back, guilt still pulsing through me. _My fault. _

I sat on the bench at the police station, my arm handcuffed to the side of the bench. The police officer who'd brought me in and read me my rights called my parents on the number I'd given him. I stared blankly in front of myself, not really seeing anything. The only things I could see were in my mind's eye... the crowd of people in the auditorium, cheering on my suicide, and Elisha's body, surrounded by her family.

"Hello? Mr. Snyder? This is Officer Fredericks. I'm here with your son at the police station, and-"

I winced as I heard my dad yell through the phone. "You've got that freak with you? Good!"

"Sir, we need you to-"

"No! I'm not going to have anything to do with him from now on! I heard about what he did, and I'm not dealing with it! I'm disowning him! In fact, as soon as I get off the phone with you, I'm calling a lawyer and starting the legal process! I'm not doing anything more for that punk for the rest of my life!"

I lowered my head into my hands, staring at the floor. It was no more than I deserved.

"Sir, if you don't-" Officer Fredericks stopped talking for a moment. "Shit, he hung up on me!" He knelt down next to me, placing his hand on my shoulder. "You heard that, didn't you."

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak.

"I'm sorry."

I jerked, turning to face him, my eyes wide with shock. "What?"

"I said I'm sorry. You shouldn't have had to hear that, and he shouldn't have done that to you. It's not right."

"But I-"

He waved me silent. "Look, my job was to bring you in, and I did. But you're innocent until proven guilty, and that's how I treat all of the kids I deal with. I treat you like I would my own son, and you're innocent in my eyes until proven guilty."

I laughed bitterly, lowering my head again. "Oh, believe me, it's my fault."

"Stop! Remember, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."

I shook my head. "It doesn't matter." It'd be a good thing if I was locked up for the rest of my life.

Officer Fredericks sighed. "Okay. So your parents won't be helping you. Is there anybody else you would like me to call, anybody else who could help you through this?"

I bit my lip. The only other person who would care, who would try to help me, was Crystal. "No," I said. He started to get up. "Wait! Could you... could you call the Springfields? I need to apologize to them. If you could arrange a time for me to meet with them or something, I'd... I'd like that." I didn't really want to intrude on them now, right when the grief and shock was still so strong and fresh, but I didn't know if I'd get another chance to talk to them, or ask somebody to call them.

"Alright. What's their number?"

I looked up at Officer Fredericks for an instant. "I – I don't know. Forget it, it doesn't matter. I'll be fine." I was shaking, though, alternately terrified of what was coming and feeling that I deserved whatever I got. I clenched my hands together. I thought about praying – wasn't that what Elijah would have done? But I didn't think that God would answer. Or that He'd care.

"If you really think so," said Fredericks, looking skeptical. "I have to bring you to the detention center now."

I nodded, ignoring the cold sweat breaking over me. I murdered someone, I reminded myself. This is what happens to murderers.

Well, what do you think? I really struggled with this chapter, because I have no knowledge of how the legal system works when somebody is arrested, other than what I've seen in movies and read in books. So, if anybody has any corrections for me, tell me, please! I'll make the change. Thanks!

Also, if you think Elijah was out of character – remember, he just learned his twin sister died, right after he learned that Ian had cursed her. How would you react?


End file.
